AU mediator to visit Sudan for talks on post independence issues

October 17, 2011 (KHARTOUM) — The chairperson of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel on Sudan. (AUHIP) Thabo Mbeki will arrive in the Sudanese capital Wednesday as talks on the post-independence arrangement are expected to start in Juba.

Mbeki who brokers the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between Sudan and South Sudan returns to Khartoum for the first time in three months since the rejection of a framework deal on the Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan protocol by President Omer al-Bashir in June.

The Sudanese presidency welcomed in a statement released Monday Mbeki’s visit saying that the Government of Sudan appreciates the efforts exerted by the AUHIP on the pending issues in the implementation of 2005 peace deal which led to the independence of South Sudan.

The presidency further reiterated “the government’s commitment to cooperate with the Panel until their efforts and good offices culminate and lead the two parties to a lasting solution, ensuring security and stability between the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan”.

Delegations from Sudan and South Sudan will meet on Tuesday in Juba for talks on the border demarcation, Abyei and security issues. The remaining committees are expected to meet soon after the arrival of the South African mediator.

Presidents Bashir and Salva Kiir agreed that the parties have to end their discussion and submit their conclusions to the presidency before the end of the month.

However, the positions of the two parties on many issues are still far apart and require more than a month and “much of good will” to reach a compromise, said a Sudanese official commenting on the Juba talks.

Besides the border problems, the issue of oil transportation remain one of the most sensitive issues in the upcoming talks.